Music Therapy: What are the Misconceptions about Music Therapy?

Since music therapy isn’t as yet a mainstream healing activity, it is looked at with a few misconceptions. But it is a fast evolving field and all misconceptions and myths are being blown away in the winds of acceptance and new discovery.

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Music Therapy: Who is Qualified to Practise Music Therapy?

This is primarily directed to the organised music curriculum in the western world. We refer here specifically to the United States and more details will be available at the US Information Services in various Indian cities. Details about courses in other western nations are also available at the respective consulates.

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Music Therapy: Where do Music Therapists work?

In the West, music therapists work in psychiatric hospitals, rehabilitative facilities, medical hospitals, outpatient clinics, day-care treatment centres, agencies serving developmentally disabled persons, community mental health centres, drug and alcohol programmes, senior centres, nursing homes, hospice programmes, correctional facilities, halfway houses, schools, and private practice.

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Music Therapy: Education of a Music Therapist

Could you elaborate upon the education of a Music Therapist?

The education of a music therapist is unique among college degree programmes because it not only allows a thorough study of music, but also encourages examination of one’s self as well as others. The undergraduate curriculum includes coursework in music therapy, psychology, music, biological, social and behavioural sciences, disabilities and general studies.

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Music Therapy: Explaining Music Therapy

“People ask me as a professional music therapist, ‘How does music do these things?’ and I really couldn’t tell them, and that always bothered me,” says Professor Taylor. “And so what I’ve done is to create what I call a biomedical theory of music therapy, and that biomedical theory basically says that music affects human behavior by affecting the brain. And by knowing what those effects are, they can be replicated. My work shows how music therapy helps decrease stress, lowers anxiety and improves those areas that are damaged when anxiety and stress are at high levels, such as the immune system for example.”

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Music Therapy: A Health Report on the Healing Powers of Music

These reports were presented at the VII International Music Medicine Symposium held in July 1998 at the Faculty of Music, Melbourne University, Australia. All those mentioned participated and provided their input, which we record for the benefit of our readers and a better understanding of music as sheer therapy.

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